The Maine Economic Growth Council released its 2011 Measures of Growth in Focus annual economic report today. Senator Seth Goodall, co-chair of the Council and Council member Steve Schley presented the report to legislative leaders.  This year’s report highlights 25 indicators that measure Maine’s progress toward long-term, sustainable economic growth.  

The Council added a new indicator, Fourth Grade Reading Scores, to better understand how children are being prepared as they advance through the K-12 system and to better predict their future performance in terms of educational attainment, earning potential, productivity, and social costs.  Only 36% of Maine fourth graders were reading at a proficient or better level in 2009.  The Council feels this is problematic to Maine’s economic future and sets a benchmark to improve that over the next five years. 

The Council also replaced the Chronic Disease indicator with the Wellness and Prevention indicator that tracks the prevalence of overweight and obese adults in Maine.  Being overweight or obese is the third leading cause of preventable chronic diseases in Maine and two out of every three Mainers fall into one of those categories.  Chronic disease drives up health care costs and greatly affects the economy by lowering productivity and economic activity. 

The Growth Council awards Gold Stars to indicators that demonstrate exceptional performance and assigns Red Flags to indicators that need attention. This year, the Council awarded two Gold Stars to International Exports and Conservation Lands. The Council gave five Red Flags to Research and Development Expenditures, Cost of Health Care, Cost of Doing Business,  and the two new indicators mentioned above, Fourth Grade Reading Scores, and Wellness and Prevention.

“The long-term plan for the Maine economy has not changed,” said Laurie Lachance, President and CEO of the Maine Development Foundation which is charged by the Legislature to administer the Council.  “Now more than ever, we need to build up our state’s greatest asset – its people.  We need to ensure that every Mainer has the opportunity to reach their highest educational attainment beginning at birth and we need to make sure they are healthy.  If we do those two things, it will lead to lower costs, higher incomes, and greater opportunity. ”

“This report card is an important tool that allows policy makers to evaluate current trends and develop next steps,” said Council Co-chair, Tim Hussey, President of Hussey Seating Company. “What gets measured is what gets done.  It’s simple – decision makers need good data to make good decisions.”

"The Council is excited to introduce two new indicators in this year’s report,” said Council member, Steve Schley, President of Pingree Associates Inc. “These measures get at critical issues that will determine our future success, mainly education and health.  If we offer quality educational opportunities to Maine people starting at birth and provide people with the information that allows them to take control of their health, we are more likely to achieve our vision of a high quality of life for all Maine people.”

The Maine Economic Growth Council is comprised of 19 members, each appointed by the Governor, Senate President and Speaker of the House. The Council represents a diversity of interests including government, business, education, labor, and environment. The Council was established by state statute in 1993 to develop a plan for the state’s economic growth and create specific measures and benchmarks to assess Maine’s progress.

The Maine Development Foundation (MDF) empowers leaders, strengthens communities, and guides public policy. MDF was created by the Governor and Legislature in 1978 as a private, non-profit corporation with a broad mandate to promote Maine’s economy.